The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) applauds congressional passage of H.R. 4348, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21). MAP-21 will fund federal highway programs at $37.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2013 and $37.8 billion in Fiscal Year 2014, giving state departments of transportation, contractors and businesses 27 months of guaranteed funding.
Within MAP-21, the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) has been nearly doubled from current funding levels to $2.39 billion and $2.41 billion in FY 2013 and FY 2014, respectively. With this increased investment in safety for America’s roads, states and communities can continue to aggressively combat roadway fatalities and serious injuries and help move our nation toward zero deaths on our roads. Since the enactment of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) which created the HSIP program, roadway fatalities have significantly decreased and will continue to do so with this new commitment from Congress.
ATSSA salutes the transportation bill conferees and all members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for their dedication to reauthorizing America’s federal highway program.
ATSSA Chairman Doug Danko stated in a press statement, “The passage of MAP-21 is a huge boost for safety on America’s roads. Because of the leadership of Chairmen Boxer and Mica and Ranking Members Inhofe and Rahall and all committee members, roadway safety infrastructure companies can get busy creating jobs and making our nation’s roads as safe as possible for all roadway users. ATSSA commends Congress for the passage of this roadway safety-focused bill with robust funding for the Highway safety Improvement Program.”
In addition, ATSSA congratulates the conference committee for including legislative text which will raise awareness of the need to invest in rural roadway safety infrastructure as well as language which helps make roads safer for older drivers and older pedestrians. Finally, ATSSA applauds the added eligibility for sign retroreflectivity upgrades within the HSIP. These measures will continue to make our roads safer for all road users in all regions of the country.
